Friday Flips #80: The Great Hospital Adventure in Space

We recently received a couple of books from Epigram Books, and N was instantly attracted to ‘The Great Hospital Adventure in Space’, because of the illustrations. He has been slowly learning how to read, and managed to identify the word “space” on the cover, which also appealed to him because space is one of his areas of interest.

‘The Great Hospital Adventure in Space’ is about Dinoboy’s experience in the hospital. Being in hospital is a stressful experience for even adults, and I can just imagine how terrified a child will be. To make matters worse, parents are not allowed to accompany them during most of the procedures, so it’s great that the doctor and nurse who tend to Dinoboy are portrayed as kindly medical professionals. They accompany him on this scary journey, providing him with some form of comfort, and help him to be brave. Dinoboy undergoes his MRI scan, and although he was afraid initially, he describes his experience as traveling in space, and isn’t afraid anymore.

N thoroughly enjoyed looking at the illustrations, and asked me to read the various speech bubbles as well. The illustrations really brought the story to life, and were what made the hospital visit less intimidating. He liked the story so much that he asked to read it again immediately, and said that his favourite part was when Dinoboy went into space. I’m not quite sure he understood the storyline completely, but I think it’s good enough that he was generally engaged and able to appreciate the illustrations.

The Great Hospital Adventure in Space

‘The Great Hospital Adventure in Space’ is a good book to read with children who have to go for medical procedures in the hospital, as it helps to make the experience less frightening, and encourages children to be brave. I particularly love the nurse’s line, “There are some adventures we have to go on by ourselves.” as it describes the hospital visit as an adventure, rather than a scary event.